Goodbye
by Bookkbaby
Summary: Lucky Pair, YAOI. "I was expecting this to be a piece of cake, but so far nothing about it has been easy except me."


**Warnings: Yaoi, angst.**

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing and I make no money off of this.**

**Dedication: This was Pandapon's birthday gift! Dedicated to her.**

Goodbye

Deak walked into the small hotel room that he shared with his mentor, shutting the door quietly behind him even though he knew Bookman wouldn't be asleep. Sure enough, Bookman was awake and sitting at the small desk that had come with the room, mountains of documents surrounding the old man and a lamp glowing softly atop the desk. Bookman sat down his pen at the sound of the door closing and turned to face Deak, his face expressionless.

"Do you have anything to report?"

Deak silently shook his head.

"No. He's keeping very quiet about the war, even though he knows that I know about it." Deak frowned at that, an annoyed glint in his eye. "I was expecting this to be a piece of cake, but so far nothing about it has been easy..."

_Except me._

Deak bit his tongue to keep from speaking those last words. Even though Bookman had told him to get information 'by any means necessary', he doubted that the old man had meant for Deak to try and use sex as a means of getting information.

_"You, seduce me? How very... amusing."_

Bookman turned away with something that sounded suspiciously like a sigh. Deak tried not to fidget.

"In the past four months, you haven't gotten any new information from your lead," Bookman said flatly, clearly disapproving. "Never assume that anything will be a 'piece of cake', especially not something that no other Bookman has been able to get information about."

Deak winced and shuffled his feet. They had been on this assignment for over a year now and it was Deak who had found their first - and so far, their only - lead on a secret war. Deak had stumbled across it completely by accident in an alleyway late one night. Six months had passed since that night, though for the last four, Deak had been letting his duties as Bookman's apprentice slip further by the wayside.

"I'll make sure I get something out of him tomorrow," Deak offered, trying not to sound too eager. Bookman didn't look at him, just bent over a sheet of paper on the desk and began writing something.

"That won't be necessary," Bookman said. Deak felt something in his chest tighten.

"What?"

"I've been exchanging letters with a man affiliated with the organization leading the other side of the war. Since you are apparently unable to get any more information from the man you've been meeting, I sent a letter to a 'Supervisor Komui' and offered whatever services he'd require of us in exchange for information."

"But the Code-" Deak tried, nearly tripping over his words.

Bookman turned around, eyes narrowed. Deak fell silent.

"The Supervisor is perfectly aware of our limitations," Bookman said. "We will simply have to be more cautious about keeping to the Code. Do you understand?"

Bookman's glare increased as he asked the question. Deak swallowed heavily. Bookman's eyes were staring straight through him, as though the old man knew exactly what was going on in Deak's head.

"I understand," Deak said faintly. Bookman nodded, turning back to his desk. Deak heard the sound of paper being shuffled and then Bookman turned back to him with a single sheet in hand. Bookman offered the paper to Deak, who crossed the room and took it automatically.

"These are the details you need to know about your next persona," Bookman told him. "You are to discard 'Deak' tonight. Memorize the contents of that document and then burn it. We meet with the Supervisor tomorrow."

"Tonight?" Deak repeated. His legs wobbled for a moment but he kept his balance. He breathed in deeply, suddenly feeling short of air.

Bookman didn't turn around. The soft sound of pen scratching paper was Deak's only response.

Unthinkingly, Deak turned towards the door. He had only taken a step when Bookman's voice rang out.

"Where are you going?"

Deak hesitated, hand already outstretched towards the doorknob.

"I-"

"Do not attempt to remind me of the Code when you've forgotten it yourself, apprentice," Bookman told him firmly, the faintest undercurrent of anger audible in his voice. "You will not see that man again."

Deak hesitated. He could feel Bookman's eyes boring into him.

Slowly, he lowered his hand. His grip tightened around the sheet of paper Bookman had handed him; details of a new life, a new person, someone completely different.

Someone who wasn't 'Deak'.

Deak turned away from the door and walked over to his bed. He could feel his mentor's eyes following him but ignored it. He slumped down onto the mattress and felt the weight of Bookman's stare leave, apparently satisfied that Deak wasn't going anywhere.

Deak turned the piece of paper over in his hands, staring blankly at the words written there. By reading this, he was agreeing to give up 'Deak', to give up everything Deak had had...

But by not reading this, he would give up being his master's apprentice. He took in a long, wavering breath, then let it out slowly.

"Goodbye, Tyki," Deak murmured to himself, resigned. He blinked once, noting vaguely that his eye was slightly more moist than usual, and began to read.

_'Name: Lavi'_

The End

**A/N: This was requested by Pandapon and was my birthday gift to her. I promise I'll get back to working on my other fics soon!**


End file.
